Convertible vehicle body



July 1s, 1924.

T. KuGLER ET AL CONVERTIBLE VEHICLE BODY.

Filed April 17,- 19227 gsneeis-vsneel 2 6 PS f6 2 /l /c u n Q 7* i- 11 v -q-F* T 5V/l o Y z l v I i., .Aq 3l /z/ l' /Z Patented July 15, 1924.

UNITED STATES THnoDoRE KUGLER AND FRANK L. van Rosselli, or irriteren wsnsiiii.

eoNvERTIBLE vnifiromi BODY.

jippii-lation inea April i7, 1922. seria-1 N. 55%,"786.

To all whom it may concern:

Be known vthat. we, Tliiion'oiiii KGLER andFihi'L. VA' Ross-tur', citizens' of the United Stategresidingat Appleton, in the county of Outagamie and State ol' Visco'nsin', have invented rcertain new and useful Improvements in Convertible Vehicle Bodies, oi which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to vehicle bodies, and more particularly to convertible vehicle bodies. 'A l V One object of the invention is the provision of a .vehicle body which may be con* verted into a bed when desired. i

Ak Afurther object is the provision or' a convertible automobile body in which the front of the back sea-t is lowered to bridge the space between the iront seat andthe back seat. i

A yfurther object is the provision of means for supporting the back in either position, which means are arranged beneath the cushions and hidden from view.

A further object is the provision 01"' a hinged back which may be lowered by releasing a locking member' and which will automatically lock in normal position When raised.

With these and such other objects iii view as will be apparent from the description, our invention resides in the novel combination, construction and arrangement. of parts hereinafter described and claimed, and illusti'ated in the accompanying drawings, of which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of the body oi' a vehicle, partly in section, showing the invention applied;

Figure 2 is a. transverse vertical, sect-ioiial view on the line 2 2 of Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a detail, unassembled view of the parts for hinging the back of the front seat.

-Referring to the drawings, the reference numeral 1 designates the body of amotor vehicle. as a whole. The vehicle is provided with a `front seat Q and a rear seat The front seat is provided with a back 4. lt is the usual. construction to provide a rigid back for the front seat, but in the present construction the back is connected to the seat by means oi' hinges 5 to permit it to be lowered .to ai@ 'pes-ities staat in Figure i @if ias drawings, and bridge the "space between 'the front and bach seats'.V l

In order tore'tain the' back horizontal position and prevent sagging iieans varev providedconsistiiig of apair of ari-ns "6 and 7, which are pivoted to the baci; 5 and to the side S 'ot tli'evvehicle body. These -arins are connected to` each other to permit their eX- tension, thus' forming a 'eisfut'eiidiig'Y from the lowered po'ittionto the'side of the car, and siipp'ortingit. i Two of these 'braces may be' employed, one at each side of the car, as 'shown in Figure 2 ot the drawings.

The arm 6 is connected to a pin "9 carriedV between a lpair ci ears 10,*fo'rmed o'na plate 11. This plate may be secured Yto the back by any suitable type of fastening ele'ine'nt's.V The opposite end of the arm is lconnected ,to the arm 7 by a link. As shown, they link is formed of a npair of plates l2 arranged 'on opposite sides ot the arms. These plates mayv be connectedrto the arms in any suitable manner.' ln the embodiment shown, the ends i i oi? the arms are provided with openings 13. The plates are provided with openings 14 adjacent each end. The openings 14 are adapted to be arranged in alignment With one of the openings 13, and a pin 15 passed through them. The pin may be held in posi tion by any suitable means, such as cotter pins 16.

As stated, the other end of the arm 17 is pivotally connected to the side of the car. A plate 17 is secured to the side 8 and this plate is provided with yan enlargement or thickened portion 18, having a threaded opening 19. The end of arm 3 is provided with an opening 20, adapted to receive a pin 21. This pin is provided with a threaded end 22 adapted to be received in the threaded opening 19. It will be apparent that the arms 6 and 7, when extended, form a brace or support for the back when it is inhori- Zonta-l position and that they may be folded Y in the position shown in Figure 1 when the back is in normal position.

Suitable means are provided for retain- 'ing the back in normal position. As shown a locking member 23 is pivotally mounted on the pin 21. This member is provided with a recess 24 adapted to receive the pin 9 when the back is in normal position, The locking ics member is maintained in operative position by means of a spring 24 secured to the rear end thereof, and to the side of the car. The plate 17 may be provided with a stop to limit the downward movement of the forward end of the locking member. The locking member is released to lower'the back, by means of a rod 26. The lower end of this rod is offset as at 27 and secured to the locking member, and the upper end is arranged above the top of the back and provided with a ring 28. It will be noted that the operating parts of the back control are arranged behind the cushion 29, and the ring 28 is the only part projecting beyond the cushion. 1f desired, a bumper 30 may be arranged on the side of the oar adjacent the lower end of arm 7 when it is in folded position, and a similar bumper 31 may be arranged on the back.

The operation of the device will be apparent. Vhen the back is to be lowered, the rod 26 is raised to release the locking member Q3 from the pin 9. The back is then lowered and the arms 6 and 7 extended to form, in effect, a continuous supporting mein ber or brace, to retain the back in horizontal position, bridging the space between the front and back seats. As the seats are provided with cushions, and the back is provided with a cushion Q8, the body is thus converted into a bed. Spring 24 normally holds the locking member in position to engage the pin 9 when the back is raised and thus lock the parts in normal position.,

The bumpers 30 and 31 prevent the parts from rattling due to the vibration of the vehicle in running.

It will be noted that the back may be retained in normal position or lowered, and

that the operating means is entirely hidden by the cushions with the exception of ring 28. Then the back is raised, the locking member automatically snaps into position,

and it may be released by merely lifting pin 28.

le claim:

A convertible vehicle body comprising a front seat, a rear seat spaced therefrom, a

back hinged to said front seat and adapted to bridge the space between said seats when lowered, cushions arranged on said front and rear seats and said back, a foldable arm to support said back in lowered position, said arm being normally disposed in a plane be- In testimony whereof we affix our signa? tures.

THEGDORE KUGLEB. FRANK L. VAN BUSSUM. 

